Performance related injury?

[88dubs]

Hello,

About a month ago, I was hired to play a pop music gig with a band in Al Ain, UAE. Since then, I've developed a slight numbness in the top of my right forearm (the hairy part, I guess you could call it) from my elbow to my wrist.

At first, I thought this was something unrelated, but then I noticed a tingling sensation whenever I played. We play 3-5 hours, five nights a week, and the music is extremely repetitive (as pop music usually is). It probably doesn't help that my technique has never been very good (very tense). So my questions are:

1) is this numbness a result of my playing?

2) Should I be alarmed about permanent and movement-impeding damage?

3) Has anyone experienced this before/Have tips about how to fix it?

[hardy_practice]

Make sure the piano's miked up so you can play quietly.

[stevensk]

1) If your problem has has occurred from repetitive patterns, try to change fingerings, split the patterns and play it both hands

2) Play softly

3) Change repertoaire

4) Play more chord like style

5) Focus on relaxed playing

[pianoplayer002]

1) is this numbness a result of my playing?

99.5% chance that it is, since you describe your playing as very tense, and the problem started after you got a busy playing schedule.

2) Should I be alarmed about permanent and movement-impeding damage?

Yes. Pain, tingling, numbness and any other kind of discomfort in relation to your playing is your body telling you "stop doing this before you hurt yourself buddy".

3) Has anyone experienced this before/Have tips about how to fix it?

Yes, I used to be so tense I could only play an hour a day and still suffered from pain. Changing fingerings, playing more softly, changing repertoire are only temporary bandaids that do not solve the underlying problem. It is fully possible to fix.

The basics are that your arms, that is to say, shoulders (shoulderblades, clavicles etc), elbows, wrists, hands and fingers, must be completely flexible and soft while playing, no stiffness anywhere of any kind. The fingertips move to bring down the keys, and everything else follows their lead. Mentally your focus should be in the finger tips and having them guide all movements. If your finger joints collapse or your hand becomes all floppy and hard to control when you try to relax you know you are not focused in the fingertips yet. Do not stiffen the fingers to keep them from collapsing. Do not put pressure on the hand from above.

It's hard to describe playing sensations in writing since we're all different. Basically if it feels bad, it's wrong, if it feels good and feels like it releases tension it is good. Playing should feel effortless.